Honestly, if you can't get them on HF or VHF, you can't call from a Mobile or a Fixed Line, you're unable to depart VFR initially, if you don't have someone on the ground holding some sort of SAR, If you don't have a SatPhone or SpiderTracks, you're unable to relay through another Aircraft AND this level of complete and total remoteness is so unexpected that you didn't give a SAR to ATC before going out of contact... Then I can only assume you got distracted on climb, missed your assigned altitude and somehow ended up on the Moon... In which case you've got bigger problems on your hands and you really should just throw the law books out the window cause I'm pretty sure no ones written any for up there yet so do as you please!!

I wouldn't presume to argue legalities, but from a practical point of view;

- calling taxiing by sat phone makes little or no difference to ATS. Instead of the HF operator calling us, the supervisor wanders over with the cordless phone. Arguably you are out of comms once you hang up, but that is no different to single VHF only aircraft once on the CTAF freq anyway.

- most if not all "no joy on HF" flights are RPT, so presumably have someone on the ground.

- if there is no one one the ground watching/waiting, surely cancelling SAR in the cct on the way in is just as bad as departing without a sarwatch?

T28D - I guess it is a case of late vs no help. If the prang is bad enough, even having ARFF and a MASH prepositioned at the the crash site isn't going to help. Opens up another debate as to how useful any sarwatch is out in the GAFA.

For over 30 years I have wondered about cancelling SAR in the circuit just before the ( statistically) most dangerous part of the flight.:confused::hmm:

Tankengine is absolutely correct. I have always had the same thoughts.
Even on a perfect VFR day, ANYTHING can happen at any time and you just cancelled SARWATCH before the most risky part of the flight.
It could be as simple as blowing a tyre on landing or have the gear collapse etc and you run off the runway etc.
It happens, and sure as s**t it is more likely to when you dont have a backup plan and no way of CYA when it does.

If someone is already definitely at the strip waiting for you before your specific ETA then if anything goes wrong close by, ie you physically crash ( and burn?) and they witness it at least they can raise the alarm somehow.